Immunochromatographic strip formats have become increasingly popular for qualitative and semi-quantitative assays which use visual detection schemes. This type of assay involves the application of a liquid test sample suspected of containing the analyte to be detected to an application zone of an immunochromatographic test strip. The strip is comprised of a matrix material through which the test fluid and analyte suspended or dissolved therein can flow by capillarity from the application zone to a capture zone where a detectable signal, or the absence of such, reveals the presence of the analyte. Typically, the strip will include means for immunospecifically binding the analyte to be detected with its specific binding partner which bears the detectable label. In one such scheme, the strip contains an enzyme labeled, mobile binding partner for the analyte which is in a zone downstream from the sample application zone. If analyte is present in the test sample, it will combine with its labeled binding partner to form a complex which will flow along the strip to a detection zone which contains a substrate for the enzyme label which is capable of providing a colored response in the presence of the enzyme. The strip may contain a zone in which analyte is immobilized, so that labeled binding partner which does not combine with analyte, due to the absence of analyte in the sample, will be captured and thereby inhibited from reaching the detection zone. There have been published various modifications of this technique, all of which involve some competitive specific binding system in which the presence or absence of analyte in the test sample is determined by the detection or lack thereof of labeled binding partner in the capture zone.
An alternative to the above described immunometric assay which detects the free labeled antibody is the so called sandwich format in which the capture zone contains immobilized antibodies against an epitope of the analyte which is different than the epitope to which the labeled antibody is specific. In this format, there is formed a sandwich of the analyte between the immobilized and labeled antibodies and it is therefore an immunometric assay which detects the bound labeled antibody species.
Not all of the schemes for immunochromatography rely on an enzyme labeled binding partner/enzyme substrate for providing the signal for detection of the analyte. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,806,311 there is disclosed a multizone test device for the specific binding assay determination of an analyte and an immobilized binding partner therefore together with a capture zone for receiving labeled reagent which migrates thereto from the reagent zone. The capture zone contains an immobilized form of a binding substance for the labeled reagent. The labeled reagent bears a chemical group having a detectable physical property which is detectable on the basis of such physical property, so that it does not require a chemical reaction with another substance in order to be detected. Exemplary of such groups are colored species of fluorescers, phosphorescent molecules, radioisotopes and electroactive moieties.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,703,017 describes the use of visible particulate labels for the receptor. Various particulate labels such as gold sol particles and visible dye containing liposomes are mentioned. In WO-96/34271 there is disclosed a device for determining a target analyte and creatinine in a fluid test sample which device has an assay strip for the detection of creatinine and a second assay strip for the detection of the target analyte. The creatine concentration can be determined calorimetrically or by the specific capture of labeled creatinine binding partners. The concentration of the target analyte is corrected based on the sample's creatinine concentration which correction can either be done manually or by means of a properly programmed reflectance analyzer.
EP 0 462 376 discloses an immunochromatographic procedure in which signal at the capture site and the conjugate recovery site of the strip are detected and the analyte concentration is determined by the intensity of the signal at the capture site relative to the signal at the conjugate recovery site.
Immunochromatographic strip formats provide a viable system for the determination of various analytes (whether they be antigens or antibodies) but suffer from the limitation that they yield results which are at best semi-quantitative when, for some analytes, more precise, quantitative results are required.
In WO-96/38720 there is disclosed a chromatographic assay device for the detection and/or determination of an analyte while giving a positive indication that flow has occurred properly through the device. The device comprises an opposable component including a sample preparation zone and an absorber together with a second opposable component including a first chromatographic medium with capture/detection zones and a second chromatographic medium with a comparison zone and a comparison label zone. The opposable components are typically joined by a hinge so that the opposable components can be folded over upon each other to form a unitary cassette in which the chromatographic medium is encased.